Useful Documents

Help to buy a home

There are a few different schemes that may be of assistance if you are planning to buy a home in the near future. These include shared ownership schemes, where you part buy and part rent, a rent to buy scheme that will pay you a rebate on some of the rent you’ve paid and government backed savings schemes which will give you a bonus to add to your deposit.

You should think carefully and get trustworthy, independent advice before deciding to buy a home. There may be a more suitable housing option for you.

Shared ownership schemes allow someone to own a portion of a property and to rent the remainder from a housing association. For years, Co-ownership Housing has been the best known scheme for people who want to buy a home but who cannot afford to purchase 100% of the property they’re interested in.

If you are interested in buying a new build home, but don't have enough money saved up for a deposit yet you should look into the new Rent to Own scheme for Northern Ireland. This scheme is run by OwnCo Homes, a subsidiary of NICHA. It gives potential purchasers a three year tenancy of a new build property and then issues a 25% rent rebate to the tenant if the tenant decides to buy the property at the end of their tenancy.